Trusting God's Sushi Bar - A Thanksgiving Post

I had to leave Asia to learn about God's sushi bar.
Let me explain.
After almost nine years in South Korea, my wife and I felt called to move back to the USA - in part so that I could pursue a PhD.  In addition to leaving behind a great church and great friends, we were also leaving a lot of stability in terms of finances and day to day life.  We traded two steady well paying full-time jobs for one steady part-time job and whatever else we could scratch together.
We expected that our small business hosting international students would flourish and provide us with significant margin again.  However, having three extra kids in our house for a few months was much more work than we expected, and we haven't been able to transition to longer term students.
The net result of that is two fold.  1) I can't even start thinking seriously about a doctoral program until we are more stable.  2) Sarah and I have scraped together a wide variety of part-time jobs to pay our bills, and, surprisingly, to regain margin one millimeter at a time.
In the past 10 months, I have earned income from at least 13 different sources, and Sarah's count is at least 5.  I have done some of the normal pastor things: my regular job at Duneland Community Church, a wedding, and a guest sermon.  I've also done some free lance writing for Northwest Indiana Times, Holiness Today, Standard, and Grace and Peace Magazine.  I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach writing as an adjunct professor at Olivet Nazarene University, and I'm 80% of the way through the approval process to teach as an adjunct at Indiana Wesleyan University.  Those are all within my normal skill set and experience base.  However, I have also done some environmental testing for a small business owner in our church, and I'm also the website administrator for the Northwest Indiana District of the Church of the Nazarene.  Both of those are out of left field.
I had to laugh when people at a pastors conference asked if I am bivocational.  I'm bi/tri/quad-vocational.  Categories don't fit what I'm doing right now.

Liberating our Families

Chan and Tin worked most of their lives in the rice fields of Thailand.  After working all year on the farm, there was barely enough money to feed the family.  They struggled year after year in desperate poverty.

One day a recruiter for a company called Global Horizons came to their village promising high paying jobs on farms in America.  In one month in America, they could earn what they make in a full year in Thailand.  It was the opportunity of a lifetime to change the lives of their children and their whole extended family.

There was just one catch.  To enter the program, they had to pay a recruitment fee of almost $15,000.  They mortgaged their farms and their houses.  They talked their relatives in to mortgaging their farms and homes.  Tin’s loans ranged up to 80% annual interest, but Chan’s loans reached 152% annual interest.

When they got to the airport, Global Horizons forced them to sign a host of new documents - including a visa renewal fee of $8,000.  When they reached America, the recruiters confiscated their passports “for safekeeping.”  This meant that they had no identification and no way to prove that they were in the USA legally.

At first, there was plenty of work and on-time pay.  After a few months though, the work began to run out and the pay started coming later and later.  Often, they sent 100% of their pay checks back to Thailand so that their families could make the payments on their loans.  That meant they often didn’t have enough to eat, so they caught wild animals for food and gathered wild vegetables from forests.  They usually lived in overcrowded housing without enough beds for each person.  Sometimes the toilet wouldn’t work for weeks at a time.  They often lacked kitchens, washing machines, and sufficient heating. To limit their contact with outsiders, their handlers told them that Americans are greatly prejudiced against Asians and that leaving their housing grounds would be very dangerous.  

Surely this couldn’t really happen in today’s world, right?  They are free people.  They could just change companies, right?  Wrong.  Global Horizons was their legal sponsor and guarantor.  If they quit, they would lose their visas and be sent home to Thailand ... and their families would lose everything.  

How to Be a Superhero

Ephesians 6:10-18

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

A few weeks ago Pastor Greg talked about how lots of movies try to destroy the world.   In most of these movies usually a hero or superhero steps up to save the day. 

What’s going on?  Why do we keep telling stories about destroying and saving the world?

Even if we don’t define it in spiritual terms, we know that there is a battle of good versus evil in our world.  We know that we are part of this battle.   Somehow, deep inside, we know that there are forces of darkness and evil in this world that are stronger than us, bigger than us. 

We know that we need help from someone bigger, someone stronger, someone more awesome than we could ever be.  We know we need a hero.  And so we have a whole genre of fiction and movies with superheroes.  

Today, as we continue our Family Movie Series in the month of August, we’re looking at the movie THE AVENGERS.  

The Summons - Book Review

Carrying three million dollars in your trunk can be stressful.
Summoned to his father's deathbed, Ray Atlee discovers a dark little secret for his father - a retired judge.  Stuffed away in cardboard stationary boxes are piles and piles of hundred dollar bills.
How did it get there?  Where did it come from?  Who does it belong to?  Who are these people who want it back?
Complicating everything is that Ray's brother and co-inheritor is a life-long drug addict.  Giving him a small fortune would be like handing him a grenade with no pin.
Grisham manages to string us along in suspense as the action picks up.  Meanwhile he is teaching us lessons about greed, the addictive power of money, the essential impotence of money to make us happy, and yet the power of money when used as a tool for healing.  In the midst of immense family brokenness, Grisham even manages to work in some surprising hope and hints of reconciliation.
Also, Grisham takes us back to Clanton, Mississippi, where several of his novels are based, and reintroduces us to one of his more colorful supporting characters, Harry Rex Vonner, a good friend, who is also an alcoholic womanizer.  Ah, Grisham, thanks for the complexity.
And thanks Emma for another good Father's Day gift.

Hebron High Class Basks in Shared Good Times

Being together since kindergarden has helped Hebron High School graduates bond, said Rick Cheek, the school's band director.

“They’re a tight-knit group," he said. "They’re always hanging out together. We always hate to see the senior class go.”

Class President Aaron Plomann shared the sentiment in his welcoming address to the 124th commencement:

 “I can’t think of any other place I’d rather graduate.”

Allison Lewis, co-salutatorian, expressed the students’ thanks “for everyone who works at our school from the cafeteria workers to the janitors, the faculty and the coaches. We wouldn’t be graduating without you.”

Continue reading this story at The Times.  

100 Things I Love About Korea: #98 - The Year 2012

Thanks to the apartment the church helped us buy in 2011, we were able to host small group in our home that fall and in 2012.  We really enjoyed hosting again, and John David really connected with Pete!

We really enjoyed spending more time with James, Beth, and Abby Picket.  We had lots of fun Sunday afternoons (and into the evenings) playing Catan and just generally hanging out.  We were sad to say goodbye as they moved back to the states to prepare to do church planting in Hawaii.

100 Things I Love About Korea: #97 - The Year 2011

One benefit of living in Korea has been relatively easy access to other countries.  In February, our church took our second trip to Bangladesh, with Wooyoung, HaYoung, and Il-Ho (among others).

Thanks to my mom coming to visit, Sarah and I were also able to do up our 10th anniversary in style.  We took a hop, skip, and a jump down to the Philippines to a great little resort on a spectacular beach.

We had fun times at the local park with Bruce, Susan, and Gabriel Kim.  We've gotten a lot of use out of this little park.  Emma has done countless laps around the track on her bike or inline skates.

Hermann Gschwandtner and Nathan Biswas came to Korea to talk about our partnership with Bangladesh, and we were about to tag along on a KNU culture trip.  They loved making kimchi and bulgogi.

A few months later, we welcomed John David into the world, named after my father and uncle (who were named after their uncle, who was named after ...).  My mom came over early and was here when he was born.

The icing on the cake was that Sarah's sister Elizabeth gave birth to Ella in the same hospital just three days later.  They were literally across the hall from each other for a day or two.  I'll never forget the look of terror on Michael's face when we walked into the room (after hearing Ella cry from across the hall through two closed doors).  He said, "We've got a screamer!"  She's gorgeous, but she's a feisty one!

100 Things I Love About Korea: #96 - The Year 2010.

JD Wiley entered the world with all of his cute old-man-baby looks.  That meant we were able to be with Joe and Elena for the birth of all three of their boys!

A high schooler at our church gave Emma a baby rabbit for Christmas.  After debating hundreds of normal names, Emma named her Moscow.  Unfortunately, she died a few days later (probably due to a combination of us introducing new foods too quickly and her being separated from her mother too early).  We made it up to Emma by getting her a new rabbit for Easter, whom she promptly named Charlie Brown.  After we discovered that Charlie was a girl, we changed her name to Manilla.

100 Things I Love About Korea: #92 - The Year 2008

2008 brought us some friends from Russia.  Ilya, Yulia, Sasha, Mirek (and later Misha) moved into the same apartment complex, and our girls became fast friends.  We also started wonderful a tradition of celebrating New Years together (which is the big holiday of the year in Russian speaking cultures).

English camps brought in extra money as well as extra friends and family.  Here are my dad and Jerry and Raylene Tucker, who adopted Emma as a grandchild of their own!

As always, we had lots of fun, including a KNU trip to Busan, our annual trip(s) to Daecheon Beach, and the annual halloween costume party at Outback.  Bruce and Susan Kim usually have the best costumes of anyone there.  Here's Susan (the cafeteria lady) polishing my boots!

Adam, Robb, Houston, and a few other folks also hosted a charity concert at the "Helicopter Bar," which is actually inside a restored chinook helicopter.  Amazing location, amazing music.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - Review

This was a groundbreaking, extremely controversial movie.  When it came out in 1967, interracial marriage was still illegal in 13 states of the USA.
Sidney Poitier, Katherine Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy put forth stellar performances as a family wrestles with the implications of a quickly impending interracial marriage.  The story line is a bit cramped - with the parents having to make a decision of support for or against in a single night.  However, the overall story, acting, and writing are simply outstanding.  The two best parts of the movie are the internal struggles of Spencer Tracy and the father-son struggle of Sidney Poitier and his on-screen dad.
Spencer Tracy is a renowned liberal newspaper publisher - a bleeding heart, white liberal, who has supported racial reconciliation with abandon.  However, when his own daughter wants to marry a black man, he faces the secret depths of his own heart.  He discovers that deep prejudice can hide in the best of us.
Sidney Poitier's parents - who also conveniently arrive for dinner - also struggle with the shock of their son's love for a white woman.  However, one of the best lines in the movie comes in the father-son argument.  Finally, Sidney Poitier shouts one of the best movie lines in history: "You think of yourself as a colored man.  I think of myself as a man."
As someone who lives in Korea and sees many Korean families struggle with the potential marriages of their children to non-Koreans, this film still rings true.   This movie is also a wonderful demonstration of the power of art to contribute to positive change.
This is a must see.  One of the best movies I have seen in a very, very long time.  It's a shame that it fell from grace on the AFI top 100 list.  It was in their 1997 list, but not the 2007 one.  The Josh rating: hands down - JJJJJ.

Indian in the Cupboard - Review

Emma and I just finished reading Indian in the Cupboard, the classic children's novel by Lynne Reid Banks.  A boy named Omri finds a magic combination of an old cupboard and a mysterious old key that makes his plastic figurines turn to life.  In addition, to the suspenseful and and entrancing story, this book teaches the values of empathy and unselfishness.  As Omri gets to know his little people better, he learns to view the world from their perspective and to put their well-being above his own personal desires.
This is a great book for parents to read together with children.  Emma and I both enjoyed the reading and looked forward to our nights with "The Indian." The Josh rating: JJJJ.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - #38 Greatest American Movie of All Time

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is the best Humphrey Bogart film I've seen.  His character is a down-and-out American in a Mexican city.  After getting some cash, he takes up gold prospecting - together with a friend and an experienced prospector.
The story itself has lots of twists and turns.  It leaves you guessing right up to the very end. 
However, the essence of the story is his transformation after they find gold.  He moves from a trusting, stand-up guy to ... well I won't ruin the story.  Gold changes people - a maxim often repeated by the old prospector (who seems to be the type-model for the old man prospector in Toy Story).  They old guy himself claims to have made and lost many a fortune hunting for gold.  Once you strike it rich, you just can't stop, he says.
In the end, this movie is a story about the foolishness of chasing wealth.  A side plot basically reveals the point of the movie.  Another gold prospector tries to force his way into their prospecting team.  He is killed during an attack by bandits, and they discover that this guy has a wife and kids, who are longing for him to come home and to give up his pursuit of gold.  Family, home, and loving relationships are the real treasure - not gold.
The Josh rating: JJJJ.

Adoption Update

We may have found a small hole in the brick wall between us and adoption. This summer we met with an adoption agency that is willing to work with us. The director thinks that we can work with a social worker licensed here in Korea (since this is our place of residence) and just get her credentials officially translated. If this works out, we will be able to adopt an American child once a birth mother chooses us.
Step 1: Get a Korean social worker to redo our home study.
Step 2: Get the US government to approve this is a legit home study for adopting a child from the US.
Step 3: Complete a "family book" which the adoption agency will show to birth mothers.
Step 4: Hopefully, a birth mother chooses us to adopt her child (still in the womb).
Step 5: When the child is born and after the two day waiting period, we make a sudden and urgent flight to the US to welcome our new baby into our family.
Step 6: We try to complete the official adoption paperwork as soon as possible, so that we can get a passport for the baby as soon as possible, so that we can return to Korea as soon as possible. We have no idea how long this will actually take.

Emma Update

Emma is amazing us with her thoughtful questions and better understanding of the world. She keeps asking us questions like, "How tall is the biggest tree?" and "Do ants sleep?" We are so glad for the internet, where we learned that, yes, ants do seem to go into a type of hibernation and redwoods can be more than twice as tall as our 15 story apartment building.

Last night Emma and Sarah were working out with an exercise tape. Sarah thought Emma would do half the video with her then Emma could take her bath and Sarah would finish. They had finished the arms and abs sections, but then the next part came up and Emma begged, "Please, I need to do the thinks part, too, Mommy. What are thinks?" (thighs) Sarah let her continue and every few minutes she would yell out, "Am I doing it right?" or "Oh, that hurts, I'm getting stronger, Mommy!" Working out with a five-year-old has never been Sarah's idea of fun, but they did have a good time last night.

Emma the Thinker (and Talker)

I always say that one of the coolest things about being a parent is watching Emma grow up. Over the past month or two, Emma has really started showing signs of thinking on more complex levels. We'll be walking to school, and she'll ask a question out of the blue that shows she has been thinking about something for a while. She's starting to make connections between different people and things and figure out their relationships with each other. We got a big kick out of discussing in-laws with her.
Last night, I came home late after my night class, and Emma was already in bed. Either she hadn't fallen asleep yet, or my coming home woke her up. I got some food and went into the bedroom where Sarah was watching a TV show on the computer. I started getting undressed and emptying my pockets. Pretty soon, we saw the bedroom door squeak open just a crack. We knew that there was a three foot tall door-opener on the other side.
Sarah told her to go back to bed. A few minutes later, I was out in the kitchen again, and I could see her door doing the same secret crack. I went into her room and sat on her bed with her.
She said, "Daddy can we have a talk? I just really want to talk right now." First of all, that was incredibly cute. I think that was the first time I've heard her say she wanted to have "a talk" with me.
I said sure.
Then, she launched into a long explanation of why she isn't sleeping: "I'm not sleepy because first of all I just can't go to sleep, and second, I tried closing my eyes and sleeping, but I couldn't sleep, and third, Mommy's watching TV, and you're moving around out there, and you're change (coins) are really loud (when I dropped my coins into the bucket), and I don't feel tired, and the lights are on in the kitchen, and eleventh, I just don't feel sleepy. So those are the eleven reasons I'm not sleeping." I have no idea where she got the number eleven from!
She continued: "So I was thinking, maybe we could make my night time list tonight."
She has really gotten into lists lately. She has a list of things to do in the morning: wake up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, go potty, get dressed, brush hair, go to school - or something like that. If she gets something out of order, she get's really frustrated: "Oh no! I can't obey my list today!" Sarah said one day this week she was hopping around the kitchen because she had to go to the bathroom, but she hadn't eaten breakfast yet. She couldn't bear to break the order of her list. (Sarah made her go to the bathroom!) Emma needs to make a new night-time list because she tore up the old one because it was out of order.
So anyway, back to the bedtime talk, we negotiated a deal that she could make her new night-time list, and then go to bed. After a little bit of drama (which was partly my fault), she finally settled down and went to bed.

Sarah and I have decided that Emma is one part Elizabeth (Sarah's sister, who loves order and art) and one part April (my sister who is full of passion and chutzpa). That makes for one lively girl!

Coming Home

Sarah and Emma left for Korea this morning. They are now flying westward over Texas. They'll stop in LA on their way to Korea. They will arrive on Sunday night.

Right now, I'm at my sister April's apartment, 20 minutes from the airport. We took the girls to the airport, got some coffee, visited my Dad's gravesite, and went to the grocery store, and we were home before 8am!

I am leaving Houston at 6:50 this evening (Saturday). Unfortunately, the ticket agent made a mistake when planning my two tickets. I will arrive in Korea on Monday night, not Sunday night. Thankfully, Steve has volunteered to teach my Monday class.

Yesterday, we got the last major financial issues settled for my Mom. We'll be working with their local bank to manage their finances and retirement packages. The bank can also help sell her house if she decides to move to Korea or somewhere else. We feel really satisfied with the banking team who will be working with us. It feels good to know that there will be some people looking out for her.

Yesterday was also my birthday - 31. It was kind of stressful day with finishing up final details and packing, but we were done with all of that by supper time. We enjoyed "lip smackin', finger lickin'" barbecue at Dickey's Barbecue Pit for my birthday supper. We got the family pack with a full pound of both sausage and beef (almost a kilo of meat), plus great sidedishes. It was absolutely some of the best barbecue I've ever had. We also had great service from the Dickey's crew. I was also surprised with some great birthday gifts: hotwheels from my sister (bringing back old memories), a "kiss the cook" apron from Emma (and Sarah), Friday Night Lights Season 1 (from Sarah), West Wing Seasons 3, 4, & 5 (from my Mom). That ought to be enough TV to keep us occupied for a very long time!

I have mixed feelings about returning to Korea now. I'm ready to be home (which in many respects is now Korea), but I know things will be very busy there as soon as I get back, and probably very busy for a long, long time. Also, I know my Mom and sister still have a lot to sort through back here. I know our church is ready for us to have us back, especially since I've been gone 9 out of 12 weeks in a row.

Thanks to everyone who has expressed condolences. Please keep praying for us as we get adjusted back to life in Korea and for my Mom and sister as they get adjusted to the "new normal" of life without my Dad.

Days 24 and 25

On Thursday, we picked up my sister April at the airport. She had gotten up at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m. to make an early flight, and she was in our car before 9 am!

We returned to my grandparents' house and played a very fun game called "Joker Marbles," which is the new game of choice in the Jetton household. It is very similar to the games "Aggrivation" or "Sorry." It has lots of highs and lows and personal affronts - great for building those warm family affections.

On Thursday afternoon, we opened an abundance of Christmas presents. I know it is only July, but this is the only time of the year our family is together, so this has become a tradition. My mom and sister shopping at bargain outlets and garage sales, so there are always loads of nice but cheaply purchased presents.

On Thursday night, we enjoyed a nice meal at Cracker Barrell, where I had yet another yummy salad. I think this is one of the American foods that I have missed most. I must be putting on weight, because I seem to be in a perpetual state of "full."

On Friday, we ate lunch at the Senior Citizens' Center which my grandparents frequent. It was nice to see that part of their life, and I developed a new appreciation for senior citizen centers. They provide a vital service to enhance the quality of life of our senior citizens. This is one of the most important parts of my grandparents' day-to-day life.

After lunch, Dad, April, Sarah, Emma, and I went canoeing on Cadron Creek with Cadron Creek Outfitters, based just north of Greenbrier. The guide wasn't very friendly, but he was efficient. We rented two canoes, and had a great time paddling down the river. Both canoes ran into some rocks and trees, and one flipped once (losing some sunglasses and shorts in the process). However, we had a great time managing the rapids and relaxing in the quiet parts. We even stopped to swim a few times. For Sarah and I, this was one of our favorite parts of our whole trip to the USA.

Day 9: Eurocup and Chili

For the past several days, I've been waking up between 6 and 7:30 no matter what time I go to sleep. This was definitely not my plan for vacation! Maybe I'm getting old. My sister gets up around 5 every single morning. Not that she's old or anything! ;)
Luke and I enjoyed another beautiful morning run. This time Leah (Sarah's youngest sister) joined us for half of it. We saw a tiny baby rabbit and a deer on the trail.
After a lunch of ham and cabbage (Abby's favorite), several us watched the Spain v. Italy game in the Eurocup series. (I know we're behind, but Jess has DVR, so we had it recorded.) This is my third game to watch in this series, and every single game has gone to extra time. They've all been very dramatic, with the underdogs usually winning. I don't get to watch much soccer in Korea for three reasons. 1) I don't usually bother to figure out the schedule of games on the Korean TV channels. 2) I usually don't have the time to watch a long soccer game. 3) The game times rarely match my schedule - often in the wee hours of the morning. But all of these problems are solved here during vacation and thanks to DVR, so I'm really enjoying this.
After the game, I fixed chili for supper. I managed to put away the chili powder before we had to call any fire departments, and Sarah's family was all able to enjoy it freely. I never once heard the words "too spicy," so that's a big accomplishment for me.
As night set in, a storm moved through. When I was upstairs working on the computer, I was surprised to hear pea-sized hail pinking against the window. I went downstairs to watch the storm on the poarch, but as soon as I opened the door a sheet of rain blew through the screen door and doused my shirt. I decided to let the storm viewing wait for another day.

Day 7: Jogging and Date Night

Monday morning, I went for a jog with Sarah's brother, Luke. We ran around a small lake near their house and onto the levie and then back through town. We were running pretty slow, but I'm guessing we ran about 4 miles. That gave us a nice time to chat about this and that. We're planning to do it again on Wednesday.

Thanks to the internet, Sarah and I were able to plan out a nice date night in Cedar Rapids, the closest big town. We found three great things all within 2 blocks of each other.
First on the schedule: salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays. When people ask me what foods I miss from America, lately I've been saying Mexican food and salad bars. Korea has an attempt at salad bars (usually at pizza restaurants), but they are usually just lettuce, tomatoes, dressing, and lots of other dishes (potato salad, sweet potato salad, jellos, canned fruits, pasta salads, etc.). One of my friends from South Africa (Jenny) said that a salad shouldn't have more than 5 ingredients. I definitely disagree. I piled on the diversity at Ruby Tuesdays. After 20 different ingredients, I lost count! It was a fiesta of flavors!
Next stop, the best icecream on earth at Cold Stone Creamery. South Korea has a few of these now, but they are both in Seoul and very difficult to reach for us (probably a good thing). Sarah couldn't finish her icecream after the big salad, but nothing was stopping me!
Last stop, the movie theater, where we watched Prince Caspian, the second in the Chronicles of Narnia series. The movie theater was very cold, so Sarah was in shock with her shorts and shortsleeves. But I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I'd probably give it 4J's. The alegory continues, as Aslan (God) was strangely distant. The Narnians were stuck dealing with doubt as the Telamarines dominated their homeland and turned them into exiles. Even when the child kings and queens were called back to Narnia, they faced the difficulty of following and waiting for Aslan when he was not easily seen. Sound familiar? Prince Caspian wrestles beautifully with the difficulty of faith in an ambiguous world. I highly recommend it.

While we were in the big city (well, small city), we stopped in at Wal-mart to buy some cheaper groceries for our family. Man, I love Wal-mart.

One More Day

So we just have one more day until we leave for our summer vacation. That feels good.
(Actually, we leave on Tuesday, but I'm writing this on Sunday night.)
Tomorrow will be spent tying up loose ends getting ready to go. I'll try to enter all of my grades into the school internet system before I leave.
This has been a stressful week for me. I've been waiting and waiting for my criminal background check to return from the U.S. State Department Office of Authentications. (Now the Korean Immigration office requires that all people on teaching visas must have criminal background checks notarized and apostilized. Apostilization is not something related to the 12 apostles. It is like an official statement that this is an authentic un-forged document. It's a real hassle.)
So I was waiting and waiting, and starting to get stressed because our plan leaves on June 17. My visa expires on June 20. If my visa was not renewed before I left, then I might have to go through a lot of trouble to get it renewed again.
So on Tuesday I got the envelope back from the State Department. I thought, "OK! Just in time. That was close, but no problem."
Then, I opened it. They rejected the document. Apparently, the FBI doesn't place their official seal on these background checks, so I also had to have it notarized before it could be apostilized. AAGGGGHHH!
Luckily, lots of other people were having similar issues, so the US Embassy worked out something with the Korean Immigration Office. I had to make an emergency trip into Seoul on Thursday to get the US Consular to give me an official affidavit stating that this criminal background check is legit. It was almost ridiculous. I wrote my own affidavit saying basically that I really did submit the background check and that it serves as evidence that I don't have a criminal background. The guy looked it over, signed it, and put the paper in a press so that it had a nice bumpy eagle seal on it.
I guess that was official enough because on Friday the Immigration Office renewed my visa. Yeah!
Today, the stress continued when I thought I lost my wallet and phone. It turned out that they had somehow fallen out of my bag in my office, so no problem, but I was pretty freaked out about the possibility of losing my wallet right before going to the USA.
The past several weeks have been marathon weeks, with lots of meetings trying to get everything caught up and ready for me to be gone for a month.
Needless to say, I'm ready for vacation.